In Search of a Third Space: Teacher Development in China

(hereafter referred to as China) were modeled on those of the former Soviet Union which were based on the model of collective communes with an emphasis on collective efforts in enhancing school-based teachers’ professional development (Yang & Wu, 1999). The Soviet model was adopted in the early 1950s to deal with a large number of untrained teachers recruited to teach in schools because of a serious shortage of teachers (Xie, 2001). Teaching research groups were set up in schools with two major tasks: to learn how to conduct a good lesson and to learn the educational theory expounded by the then-Deputy Minister of Education of the then- Soviet Union, Ivan Andreyevich Kairov. Every teacher was required to teach a good lesson and to demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings. This has become patterned practice of the teaching profession in China. The powerful learning that took place when teachers ’ learning was situated in their contexts of work has led to the continuation of this model since then. Consequently, schools have become the prime site of professional learning for teachers (Li